Asking for help.

It’s been almost four months since I’ve written a blog post. Other than fighting off a bad case of bronchitis and traveling a bit, my days have been more or less tied up with house-building decisions. The renovation of our home has become kind of “major” — truly, we did not expect such a daunting task when we started down this road. So far, Jim and I mostly seem to be rocking along on the same page (we’ve only had one melt-down that I can remember!).

A couple of weeks ago, the old movie “Brian’s Song” was on TV. What a heart-breaking, need-a-box-of-Kleenex movie. Rob told me that he’s never seen it, so I put it on “record” — wonder if it will be tough for him to watch? Brian Piccolo (who played football at Wake Forest and for the Chicago Bears) was only 26 years old when he died from cancer (embryonal cell carcinoma).

It was two years ago, on Feb. 24th, that Rob’s amputation took place. As he sees it, that is the day he became cancer-free. He still had more chemo and intense physical therapy to go after that day, but his tumor was completely removed with the surgery, so he is absolutely right. He gets scans every three months to determine if there are any signs of recurrence. For two years now, his scans have been clear. Thank you, thank you, Lord.

Thinking of where we were two years ago and where we are now — I marvel at such resilience. It’s surely God-given, that ability to “move on” following such an ordeal. Because of our house remodel, we are NOT living in the torn-up house-under-construction — we are temporarily living together with Rob again — this provides a ring-side seat for me to observe him enjoying his life and making the best of each situation, whether it’s a setback or an opportunity. He remains “independent” and by that I mean that he doesn’t ask for help if he can figure out a way to do it himself. The absence of a “poor me” attitude in him is both heart-warming and inspiring. Surely he has cried out to the Lord, and he has been heard.

Proverbs 2: 1-8My child, listen to what I say, and treasure my commands. Tune your ears to wisdom, and concentrate on understanding. Cry out for insight, and ask for understanding. Search for them as you would for silver; seek them like hidden treasures. Then you will understand what it means to fear the Lord, and you will gain knowledge of God. For the Lord grants wisdom! From his mouth come knowledge and understanding. He grants a treasure of common sense to the honest. He is a shield to those who walk with integrity. He guards the paths of the just and protects those who are faithful to him.

2 Responses to Asking for help.

I always love your positive insights to lemons that sometimes fall in our paths!!! I wonder, though, what happened with the house remodel to cause the meltdown????? Maybe, you can share on the next writing?

Gari, hope you are doing well! To reply to your comment: I think it’s safe to say that “meltdowns” do NOT help things to move along faster… as we are just NOW nearing the end of this seemingly-never-ending renovation. It’s been two years since we bought the house — we finally started staying there around Christmas. I’ve always heard that, as a rule, renovating takes longer and costs more than one would ever expect. This house is not the exception. : )